After Reaching the Happy Ending, I Was Locked up by the Extremely Possessive Heroines I Had Conquered

Chapter 47: Escape from the Island

We pushed through the woods and emerged into an open area.

A gentle breeze swirled around, carrying the sharp scent of the sea straight into our noses.

The distant ocean glittered as sunlight bounced off it, almost like it was celebrating our departure.

With that summer scenery as our backdrop, we ran. We just kept running.

We passed the community center and our house, and finally, the ferry dock came into view.

“The boat’s docked over there!”

Toa pointed to a single small boat. It was not the kind that operated from the ferry dock.

It looked like something someone owned privately.

The Shiomine old lady had probably arranged it.

If the Jindaiji family got wind of it, they would report us right away. At this point, I had no legal way to leave the island.

As we got closer to the ferry dock, more and more people came into sight. So many that they spilled out of the building, forming a line outside.

We glanced at the crowd but kept moving past it.

“Is not the crowd kind of big?”

“Lately, demand from the outside has been picking up.”

“Demand from the outside, huh.”

Finally, the island had caught up to my way of thinking. But then a question hit me.

“Wait, was not this place supposed to be in lockdown?”

Satori’s rampage was supposed to have sealed off the island…

“It is not official yet. The Shiomine family is putting up a fierce fight against it, so the decision got pushed back.”

“Pushed back?”

Even that Shiomine old lady could not overturn the decision, which showed just how tangled the island’s power dynamics really were.

No wonder she wanted to boot Satori out too.

“But rumors are flying all over the island that lockdown could happen any day now. That is why there has been this rush of last-minute buying the past few days.”

“Are the islanders all packing up and moving out?”

“No. It is more like bulk shopping. They are stocking up on stuff like detergent that keeps for a long time. That is what has the ferry dock so jammed up.”

“I see.”

Toa’s explanation made sense, but the islanders’ actions did not.

They were not trying to leave the island. They were acting like they planned to stay.

Even with things like the quartet and lockdown—policies that seemed to fly in the face of basic human rights, let alone laws—people still wanted to stick around. It was nothing short of abnormal.

—Born on the island, live on the island, return to the island. That is life.

This slogan might not be Satori’s will anymore. It could be the islanders’ collective voice. The scene unfolding around us made it feel that way.

This island really was nuts.

We slipped past the packed ferry dock full of those nutty people and reached the pier where the small boat waited.

Two figures stood in front of the boat, talking about something.

One was the old guy from the ferry dock window.

He was the one who had sold me a ticket, and also the one who had refused to sell me one.

The old guy, who usually lounged at the window with a newspaper, was dressed like a boatman for once.

No way was he the pilot?

As that question crossed my mind, my eyes naturally shifted to the person next to him.

Her sleek black hair reached her shoulders. Her skin was fair in contrast, and her big, round eyes held a deep indigo that evoked an abyss…

She turned around casually, locked eyes with me right away, and then her face lit up with a bright smile. She called out to me happily.

“Big brother!”

Mahiru rushed right over to me and threw her arms around me with all her strength.

“Big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother big brother”

“Mahiru?!”

Mahiru buried her face in my chest and kept calling my name over and over.

Each time, her breath tickled against me, but at the same time, I felt a wave of relief wash over me.

“Mahiru-chan, you are hugging too much.”

Toa grumbled about Mahiru clinging to me full-force and tried to pry her off.

But she could not pull Mahiru away, so

“Here goes!”

In the chaos, Toa gave up and latched onto me from behind instead.

Her breath brushed my ear with a soft whoosh, sending a ticklish shiver down my spine.

With Mahiru in front and Toa in back, even I started to feel overwhelmed by the intense setup.

The old guy watching it all just looked exasperated.

“Hey, you two, can you let go? We probably do not have time for this, right?”

“No way. I am low on big brother essence and running on empty. I need to recharge for a bit or I cannot move.”

“Me too.”

“You have had plenty of big brother time already, Toa-san. Let go.”

“What? It is nowhere near enough.”

“I know you two were holding hands, okay?”

“Muu…”

The two of them were at it again, same as always.

That was fine and all, but I wished they would not bicker while glued to me. If they had to fight, at least do it alone together.

“For now, just pull away a little. Come on? At least wait until we are on the boat. Look, Uncle is chasing us.”

My gaze shifted—to Satori’s uncle, sprinting toward us from the pier entrance.

His Tabasco-covered face was cleaned up, and he had a towel slung over his shoulder.

He was about two hundred meters off, but with that furious look on his face, if I let my guard down, he would catch up in no time.

“Old guy, I am counting on you.”

I called out to the window guy and pried the two of them off me.

“Get on board quick. You want to shove off before Harune shows up, right?”

“Yes! Please!”

The old guy led the way onto the boat. The two followed right after, and we were set to go.

The engine roared to life, and I felt the boat rock with the waves as I turned my eyes toward the island.

Uncle had closed in by then,

“Wait! You think you can just get away like this? Big mistake! Satori will come after you for sure! For sure!”

“I know. But that is okay. I want to live with Satori outside the island.”

“No way something that selfish flies!”

“Even so. Even so, I am going!”

The engine noise ramped up, and the boat finally started moving.

As we pulled away from the harbor bit by bit, Uncle, who had finally caught up, reached out and yelled.

“The three great families are everywhere! It does not matter if it is outside the island or Tokyo! You will end up back here for sure! For sure!”

His words felt like a curse.

But the look on Uncle’s face mixed resignation with something like envy, and the way he stretched out his hand almost seemed like a prayer.

Uncle’s figure gradually receded. His expression grew harder to make out, and his outline flickered small at the edge of my vision.

“Uncle…”

The wind whipped through, and sea spray stung my cheeks.

But the boat did not stop. It cleaved through the white waves, steadily widening the gap to land.

“…”

As we drifted farther from the harbor, with only the motor hum and wave slaps filling the air, the reality started to sink in.

—I had finally escaped the island.

That old folk house, the surveillance cameras, the confinement room, all the rules that bound the island—they were all back there now.

—This was freedom. Freedom I had finally seized.

The boat headed out from the harbor into open water.

The waves crashed rhythmically, and the island’s shape began to blur.

The sky stretched endlessly blue, and the sun shone brightly, as if wrapping us in its warmth.

“Suu… haa…”

I drew in a soft breath, filling my lungs with the salty sea air.

To etch these moments into my memory, to seal away this summer as a treasure, I breathed in deep and full.

—Goodbye, Black Tide Island. Thank you, Black Tide Island.

In the end, it turned into the kind of confinement island you could not leave once you entered, but all things considered, it was a place full of memories.

It would not be wrong to call it my hometown in this world.

Saying goodbye to such an island felt lonely, but at the same time, it felt joyful.

Yeah, this was right.

This was it—this was our new beginning.